A deadline of October 24 has been set for the submission of a proposal for the privatization of Azores Airlines, according to the jury led by economist Augusto Mateus. This announcement was made during a meeting held today in Lisbon.
The meeting was called by the president of the privatization jury and included the presence of SATA management and the Newtour/MS Aviation group, the only admitted bidder in the process.
On September 30, the regional secretary of Finance, Planning, and Public Administration mentioned that the jury had requested “a few more days” to finalize the process and provide “another chance” to the consortium.
“The president of the jury wants to give another chance to reach an agreement. We naturally respect this decision because we have been relying on the decisive participation and credibility of the jury, which has now asked for some extra days to try to close this process,” stated Duarte Freitas at the time.
The regional secretary further indicated that the jury intended to schedule a meeting with the company’s management and the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium by the end of the week.
The official also admitted that there was “an expectation” to have a “firm proposal or final conclusion of the process” by the end of September, but expressed respect for the actions of the jury led by Augusto Mateus.
In June 2022, the European Commission approved Portuguese state aid for the airline’s restructuring, totaling 453.25 million euros in loans and state guarantees, including measures such as restructuring the organization and divesting a controlling stake (51%).
